


Swimmers and Samurai Have More Than Just the Letter "S" in Common

by heartgame



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Free! parody, Gen, Swimming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2014-06-01
Packaged: 2018-01-23 22:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1581263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartgame/pseuds/heartgame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trading in their swords for swimsuits, the samurai boys of Gintama face-off on a whole new playing field set in a backwater seaside town. Converging pasts, unusual friendships, and heated rivalries make a splash in this attempt at the parody that should have been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Sun Rises on a New Season

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this fanart](https://twitter.com/shirotan_xx/status/375634764402683904) that I only just discovered. Also wanted to note that while the setting is borrowed, the plot is only loosely based on the events of _Free!_.
> 
> Anyway, let's see how far this rabbit hole goes. Enjoy!

The water is alive.

Someone with a deep psychological connection to water might be poised to say something like that.

Sakata Gintoki certainly wouldn’t be. The silver-haired ace of the Kabukicho High School swim team never really thought about water as anything beyond a means to an end.

Swimming wasn’t much more special to him either. It just happened to be the one anchor he had in his otherwise chaotic childhood, and he just stuck with it. 

Or so he says, anyway.

\---

The sun rises on the first day of Gintoki’s second year of high school.

“Gin-san? ‘You up yet? You’re going to be late!” croaks Shinpachi’s voice from downstairs. The younger boy is from the house down the street, and he’s been pestering Gintoki since before either of them could remember.

At this point Gintoki is already seated upright in his futon, flicking his first booger of the day onto the floor. He’d been hoping to only have to deal with the rude wake-up call of his Justaway alarm clock, but it was not to be.

He picks himself up groggily and stumbles to the closet for his uniform. The futility of his half-hearted attempts to not wake Kagura is signaled by a loud groan.

“Gin-chan…” she mutters, pulling the covers over herself.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop this ‘sleeping in the closet’ thing?” he remarks with a sigh. Kagura is a case he can’t quite explain when people ask; usually he opts for “adopted sister” rather than “homeless foreign girl that ended up on my doorstep.” 

Well, it isn’t really _his_ doorstep. After all, he's technically a squatter too in that tiny house, supported only by the good graces of the landlady Otose-san. Since his schedule isn’t too conducive to part-time jobs, she said she’d let him off the hook for rent as long as he did well in school and swimming. To Gintoki, that's “work” enough.

Eventually Gintoki is able to get himself out the door with his uniform mostly on (he’s all but trademarked the half-on blazer look—says that otherwise one-shouldering his backpack would feel weird). He meanders through the streets a little ways before encountering a familiar scowl at the intersection of the inland and seaside roads.

“’The hell took you so long?” Hijikata bites out after removing a candy cigarette from his mouth. He has the displeasure of being in the same class as Gintoki in addition to being a fellow swimmer.

“You’re still eating those? Tsk tsk. Pretty soon you’ll want real ones, you know.”

“Hey, it ain’t my fault I’m still a minor in this stupid alternate universe!”

“Oh, woe is you,” Gintoki sympathizes sardonically, flicking something he’d picked from his ear. “Where’s Zura?”

“’Hell if I know.” He starts chewing on the candy cigarette again. “It’s not like we all have to walk to school together like we’re friends or something.”

“Look who’s talking.”

“Would you just start moving already?!”

The journey is filled with intervals of silence and banter, as it always is.

And, as always, Gintoki never even spares a glance at the glimmering ocean.

\---

Katsura is already waiting for them at school. Apparently since it’s the first day of his administration as Student Council President, he had to come early to make preparations for some meeting later.

“Gintoki, if you would just join the council, I am certain we could make a big impact on the lives of students here at Kabukicho, starting with dethroning that shogun.”

“Don’t you mean ‘principal’?” Already accustomed to this sales pitch of a greeting, Gintoki replies disinterestedly. “Look, you practically bent over backwards getting me to join the swim team, right?” A pair of death glares silences Hijikata’s chuckles. “Isn’t that enough already, Zura?”

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura,” the long, raven-haired second-year shoots back. “You told me once when we were kids that one should 'swim beautifully until the end of the race.’ And so, I won’t be giving up until you at least run for class representative.”

“…Somehow I feel like those weren’t my exact words, but hey, suit yourself.”

“If you guys are going to keep wasting time, could we at least do that _in_ a classroom? I didn’t get up at the crack of dawn just to be late while standing inside the damned school already.”

The three shuffle into their respective homerooms (Katsura’s is down the hall from theirs) without another word. 

\---

On their way to lunch, Hijikata’s last candy cigarette falls out of his gaping mouth.

“Hijikata-san, so good to see you,” says the younger, brown-haired boy at the bottom of the stairs. “It’s been awhile since I’ve really wanted to punch something.”

“S-Sougo?!”

Gintoki and Katsura casually try to slip by as the two continue their argument, but Sougo blocks them off. 

“Just a second there, Boss,” he says almost dangerously. “That hair—aren’t you Sakata Gintoki?”

“What’s it to you?”

Leaving the question aside, he looks over to Katsura and says confidently, “And you’re Katsura Kotarou.”

Out of reflex, Katsura opens his mouth to correct his name, only later realizing that there was actually no error made.

Sougo continues with a grin. “Just thought I’d pay my respects is all, since I’m the newest member of the swim team.”

Hijikata narrows his eyes as he descends the steps purposefully. “’You bein’ serious, Sougo?”

The younger boy’s gaze flickers up. “Of course. Just turned in my enrollment form to Kondou-sensei a little while ago.”

“…You better have improved this past year.”

Sougo’s eyes and smile turn demonic as he breezes past the other two upperclassmen and grabs Hijikata by the collar. “Don’t you worry about that. You’ll see--I’ll be captain of this team before the end of the season.” He leans over to whisper at a volume only Hijikata can hear. “ _I’ll_ be the one Kondou-sensei praises.”

The older boy’s eyes take on the same devilish spark. “I’d like to see you try.”

Meanwhile, Gintoki and Katsura had taken that cue to make their way over to the cafeteria and get some food. As the former grabs a carton of strawberry milk, the latter pipes up in a somber tone.

“Today’s the day.”

Gintoki involuntarily stiffens. “Whoa whoa whoa. I’m pretty sure the expiration date is just supposed to be a guideline.” He fumbles with the package in search of the printed numbers.

“That's not what I mean.” Katsura looks up at him intently. “It’s the community center.”

“Ah.” He breaks the gaze as soon as he meets it. “Right.”

“We shall go after my Student Council meeting.”

Gintoki tightens his grip on his tray, trying to find the will to say some snappy remark or feeble excuse. He’s not sure why he does that, because going to that place is something too important to be made light of.

He just knows that a part of him didn’t want to ever have to see it again.

\---

The stars twinkle haughtily in the sky by the time they arrive at the dilapidated community center. The demolition equipment outside indicates that preparations were complete and that things would proceed as scheduled.

Gintoki and Katsura initially stand in a contemplative silence, taking in the sight of that water-stained, grime-covered building. It's a mere specter of the place where they first learned how to swim, of the place they had once called “home.”

In a wordless agreement, the two boys proceed inside the community center with Katsura’s flashlight illuminating their path. As expected, everything is dusty and in varying stages of disrepair. When they pass the empty gathering room, which seems smaller than they remember, they swear they see the shadows of children reading by imaginary desks.

As they continue down the hall toward the pool, they become aware of a figure lying in wait down one of the corridors.

“H-Hold on!” Gintoki yelps and grabs Katsura’s arm. “I didn't sign up for supernatural shit! I had enough of that at that hot springs joint!”

The long-haired boy remains stationary, aiming his flashlight at the shadow.

“Takasugi.”

“You don’t look so happy to see me, Zura,” comes the breathy reply as Takasugi steps closer, his lips curled into an off-putting smirk. “That much hasn’t changed.”

Gintoki’s expression transforms into a snarl as soon as he meets that one-eyed gaze. “I should’ve figured I’d be seeing your face this early in the story. 's a shame you don't have shark teeth like the actual dude.”

“I hear you two are still swimming.”

“Well, aren’t _you_? Isn’t that why you flew off to Australia or wherever it was? To do some secret training in the mountains or--”

“Oh, good.” Takasugi chuckles maniacally. “It wouldn’t have been the same if I didn’t get to destroy you in the process.”

Katsura interjects sternly. “You mean you are still clinging to that same twisted dream?” Both he and Gintoki have their hands poised on their shirts, ready to rip them off should Takasugi issue a challenge.

“Don’t look so eager to go swimming in a dried up pool,” Takasugi warns coldly through his smile. “We’ll have plenty of time to settle this during _friendly_ competition.”

“Tch. Guess you lucked out this time,” Gintoki mutters, relaxing his stance.

“But make no mistake,” Katsura follows up. “The next time we see you won’t be as friends or comrades—“

In unison, the two point their fingers definitively at their former teammate and declare, “We’ll crush you in the water—with all our strength!”

A bone-chilling laugh echoes through the night.


	2. Summers Gone By

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Assorted flashbacks of Gintoki's first year of high school and the resurrection of the swim team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos! And apologies for the constant weaving in and out of flashbacks; it felt natural at the time and it's kind of stuck this way haha. Enjoy!

The unexpected encounter with Takasugi in the rundown remains of their childhood had left a bitter taste in Gintoki’s mouth that persists into the following morning. It’s not enough to disrupt his usual routine, but it is enough to be a constant nag at the back of his mind.

“Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side o’ the bed this morning,” Hijikata jabs as they saunter along the seaside path toward the school.

“Is there a morning when I don't do that?”

The black-haired boy shrugs. “Just callin’ it as I see it.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not exactly a ball of sunshine yourself.”

“And I ain’t aiming to be one either.”

An even silence settles between them. They’d be damned if they call each other friends, but, as teammates and classmates, they can’t deny that there is some kind of “bond” between them. It’s the type borne out of spending too much time with someone, regardless of wanting to or not. You inevitably learn what makes them tick and how to coexist with that ticking, even if it goes a bit haywire sometimes.

Gintoki and Hijikata hadn’t been on the same page at all when they first met. Hijikata had moved from a few towns over because his swimming mentor Kondou-sensei had relocated to the local high school. In spite of all his cool bravado, the boy would be the first to proclaim his fierce loyalty to the man who taught him everything he knows. He even took it upon himself at a young age to aim for Olympic stardom so that he might succeed in propagating the principles of the Shieikan Swim Club that Kondou worked so hard to teach.

First-year Gintoki was far from impressed. In fact, Hijikata’s self-introduction on the first day of school may as well have been directed at the boy’s natural silver perm, because it certainly didn’t reach his ears. No, he had been adrift in a world inside his head, one where the water had run dry and swimming was the stuff of legend.

Hijikata was seated next to him.

“Hey,” the new kid began in a husky whisper. “What’s a guy gotta do to get on the swim team around here?”

“How should I know?” Gintoki flicked something from his nose. “I’ve got nothing to do with it.”

“Yeah, well, who’s the captain, then?”

“Nobody.” The silver-haired boy sighed, not sure how far he felt this conversation should go. “We don’t have a team.”

“Say what?!” 

Gintoki could tell the presence of their homeroom teacher was barely enough to restrain the new guy from lunging for his collar.

Shrugging, he continued. “The last of them graduated last year. Guess you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time, pal.”

While Hijikata looked ready to set something on fire, he opted for muttering loudly to himself at his desk. 

Good, Gintoki had thought. That was one headache out of the way.  
\---  
The source of his other headache that year, however, is now standing before him ready to give his usual “join the student council” lecture.

“Not interested, Zura,” Gintoki admonishes before the preaching even starts. “Go solicit someone else.”

Katsura’s words die in his mouth, struck dumb by the pre-emptive move. He should have figured visiting the community center would have this kind of effect. As dense as Gintoki made himself out to be, the things that could push his buttons really hit him where it hurt.

“Did you see that new guy trying to start up the swim team again?” Katsura had casually brought up one day a week into their first year of high school.

Gintoki was busy trying to stab a straw into his strawberry milk. “Unfortunately. The guy won’t shut up about it, even in homeroom.”

“I was thinking of joining.”

The silver-haired boy froze in place for a fraction of a second and then continued with his task nonchalantly. “Is that so? Well, suit yourself.”

“How about it, Gintoki? 

“How about what?” He smiled boastfully after finally getting the straw in and set about enjoying his hard-earned sugar rush. “I don’t swim anymore.”

Katsura steeled his resolve. “Gintoki, that isn’t what he—“  
The glare Gintoki shot him was so animalistic it forced him to stop mid-sentence. “Drop it, Zura.”

And he did, at least on that occasion.  
\---  
“I suppose you know who spit on his dango this morning,” Hijikata mutters through a candy cigarette. He and Katsura watch as Gintoki stalks off alone to homeroom.

“Leader, probably,” Katsura states matter-of-factly. “Though I’m certain his mood is affected by something more profound.”

Hijikata’s eye twitches at his perfectly good metaphor going to waste, but continues. “He ain’t going to be doing something stupid like quitting the team on us or something, right?”

“I surmise it will be quite the opposite.”

“Good enough for me.” Hijikata starts to head for the classroom himself before half-turning toward Katsura. “And quit talking so old-fashioned--it’s getting on my nerves.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Hijikata-dono.”

“…Just forget it.”  
\---  
Sougo sits with the rest of the team at lunch that day.

“So, when do we start practicing?” he inquires to Gintoki, who is sitting across from him at the table. Hijikata had gone to the bathroom and Katsura had only come to grab his lunch before disappearing into the student council room. 

“When it’s less cold out, probably,” the upperclassman offers with a shrug. “And do I wanna know why you’re putting hot sauce on Hijikata’s food…thing?”

“This isn’t food, Boss, it’s dog food. I’m just doing my part as a concerned citizen to return it to a state fit for human consumption.”

“Human consumption...” Gintoki grimaces as the mayonnaise-laden dish starts to look more and more like an off-white volcano erupting with chili-flavored lava. “Right.”

“By the way, Boss.” Sougo empties the bottle, tosses it, and digs into his own sandwich. “I heard you guys were the ones who resurrected this team, yeah? How’d that go?”

“Oh, that?” Just recalling the amount of nagging he had to endure makes Gintoki rub an imaginary ache between his eyes. “It’s not even worth a flashback.”

“Though there have already been quite a few, right, Gin-san?” a female voice chimes in.

“Don't tell me, Otae-san—you’re about to add to them, aren’t you?” he asks with a sigh.

The brown-eyed girl smiles boastfully. “I just don’t want you to forget whose brother it was that ultimately convinced you to join the team.”

More accurately, it was Shinpachi _and_ Kagura’s doing. And there really wasn’t any “convincing” done. It just so happened that in spite of enduring both Hijikata’s and Katsura’s endless badgering about resurrecting the team, it turned out that swimming itself just wouldn’t let him go.

“Come on, Gin-san!” Shinpachi yelled over his shoulder as he sprinted toward the beach. The twelve-year old was agile for his age and was way ahead of the younger Kagura, who gave it her all to catch up.

Gintoki strolled casually behind them and looked everywhere but at the looming blue horizon. Otae had her part-time job at the café that day, so the kids forced him to come along with them because it was supposedly the last good day to enjoy the beach. It took several punches to the gut from Otae and Kagura before he agreed.

“They could have at least gotten me a Jump to read or something,” he sighed. "Give me a break."  
He dropped flat on his back as soon as he’d sensed enough sand was underfoot. He’d seen the ocean for just a moment before the blue sky swallowed his vision instead.

In the distance he could hear the two children playing by the water, intermingling with the sounds of a few other beach-goers scampering about. The salty breeze tickled his nose.

“Well, maybe this isn’t so bad…” he said to himself, eyes closing.

Before he could get a moments rest though, he could hear the familiar sound of a shrill, funnily accented voice going “Hey, that’s mine!” followed by the sound of incessant punching and another familiar whiny voice going, “Kagura-chan, that’s not nice!”

Sighing, Gintoki reluctantly sat up to at least brief himself on the situation. Some neighborhood punk had apparently cast Kagura’s favorite stuffed dog toy into the waves, and she was exacting her version of divine retribution while Shinpachi failed to stop her. Seemed normal.

What was slightly less normal was Shinpachi stepping farther into the water after releasing the sedated little girl onto the sand. The toy had drifted quite a bit since it had been tossed and could no longer be reached from just standing at shore. Gintoki frowned.

“Oi, Patsuan, what do you think you’re doing?” he hollered impatiently.  
“Don’t worry, Gin-san!” The boy offered a reassuring wave. “I’m just gonna get Sadaharu!”

Even though Shinpachi was capable in the water and had the blood of a former swim coach in his veins, something did not feel right. Maybe Gintoki was just being paranoid, and he really wanted that to be the case. Or maybe not, because even if it was just paranoia, he’d still have to _make sure_.

“No, wait,” he huffed, getting to his feet. “I’ll get it.”

The younger boy looked at him wide-eyed. “You’re gonna swim, Gin-san?”  
Kagura looked just as mystified as she watched him approach.

“Yeah yeah, just don’t tell Zura or I’m eating your share of rice later.”

Gintoki trotted over and came to a dead stop at the very edge of the dampened sand. For a few moments he just let the tide roll in and out before him, convincing himself that it was inviting him in. He suppressed the shudder.

“Gin-chan, you don’t have to—“

Before Kagura could finish her thought, the silver flash of Gintoki’s hair had already dived beneath the surface of an incoming wave. His muscle memory completely took over as he paddled effortlessly forth, peeking up every so often to confirm the location of the lost dog toy. It took just a single swipe to reclaim it.

“Got it!” he shouted listlessly, holding up the treasure. He dove again after hearing excited cheers.

For some reason, the return to shore seemed longer than it had taken him to paddle out. All his limbs were still in motion, but it was as if he wasn’t gaining any distance. No, it was more like he was just moving more slowly. So slowly he might have been lost to the drift any moment. And for a moment, he thought staying in the water that much longer might be the best idea he's had all day. Then he remembered he had to breathe.

“Gin-san, what took you so long?” Shinpachi asked after he resurfaced.  
“I saw a mermaid,” Gintoki replied, handing Sadaharu to an excited Kagura. “And I ain’t Baywatch, so make sure I don’t have to go out and save him again.”  
“Leave it to me, Gin-chan!”

The high schooler returned to his spot in the sand and flopped onto his back again. The salt water stung his skin and made him want to scratch all over, though he settled just for his shoulder.

Well, I still hate the ocean, he thought to himself. But swimming…might not be so bad.

Too bad Katsura’s obnoxious victory laugh fell on earplug-insulated ears when Gintoki announced he’d join the swim team. Hijikata was nice enough to deliver the final blow to the madman.  
\---  
“SOUGO!” Hijikata shouts when he finally lays eyes on his lunch after the story had been recounted. “YOUR ASS IS MINE!”


End file.
